ABC radio presenter and columnist

In my rough calculation, within 15 minutes of Benedict XVI announcing his historic departure from the papacy, the liberal commentary took on a tired refrain. Here was the ''authoritarian'' Pope, ''God's Rottweiler'', the ''inquisitor'', beaten down by scandals that had, finally, driven him from office.

Let's acknowledge two things straight up. First, Benedict shares in the collective culpability of the worldwide Catholic Church for its failure to purge itself of clerical sex abusers.

It did not remove sex offenders from ministry early enough and it did not insist that local bishops co-operate fully with civil authorities to investigate crimes. And it did not act compassionately in dealing with all the victims. On this matter, case closed.

Second, Benedict ticks all the boxes for being a ''conservative'' - the better word is orthodox - Catholic: opposed to abortion, contraception, married and female priests, and same-sex marriage.

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But so what? Such values are probably shared by a slight majority of Catholics, if you include the growth areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

These are delicate issues for all people of faith. The ban on artificial contraception cries out for reform in the overpopulated, environmentally fragile ''global south''.

Meanwhile, the realistic objective of all faith communities should be to swiftly and dramatically reduce the abortion rate by being as pro-life after a child is born as they are while the child is in the womb.

This means pressuring governments to support public healthcare, child care, education, and - increasingly - gun control, all of which help families remain intact and safe.

For liberal and largely middle-class Catholics, who favour same-sex marriage and female clergy, this will be a continuing battleground. They might ultimately have to find another Christian denomination.

But on the biggest issue facing today's world - the shape of our economic order - Benedict was a radical. The Jesuit magazine America said Benedict's 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) ''may be the most radical since John XXIII's Pacem in Terris [Peace on Earth] 50 years ago''.

That's a serious compliment coming from a publication not known for its supplication to a conservative Vatican. But it's not surprising when you read the document.

Here's how the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council - not a radical body, unlike its predecessor the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace - characterised it: ''The encyclical addresses the challenges of an increasingly globalised world: the growing gap between the poorest and the richest, consumerism focused on 'having more' rather than 'being more', a financial crisis born of a morality that is not centred on humanity, and the search for a way of using earth's resources wisely and economically.''

The encyclical criticised governments that competed for international business by slashing corporate taxes and deregulating labour markets.

This leads, as the council summarised it, to the undermining of social welfare programs and the ''erosion of workers' rights and other human rights, and the decay of the solidarity we have traditionally come to expect''.

Nor was Benedict seduced by the whizz-bangery of ''globalisation'', attacking the outsourcing of production to cheaper countries as ''weaken[ing] the company's sense of responsibility towards … the workers, the suppliers, the consumers, the natural environment and broader society''.

He called for an international agency to regulate global capital and curb its inevitable predatory tendencies.

Charity in Truth is, as the political scientist Adrian Pabst characterised it, ''a Catholic Third Way''.

It is not a case of a monolithic state supplanting capitalism but of the people - expressed through the laws and edicts of their democratically elected governments - making hitherto unaccountable multinational corporations conform to laws and norms that uphold the dignity of labour and protect the environment.

In Benedict's world view, bureaucracies do not take over and meet everyone's material needs, undermining initiative. But democratic governments can ensure there are parts of the economy that are not driven solely by profit but through the growth of charitable, volunteer and non-government organisations.

Charity in Truth contains sharper insights and clearer objectives than we have ever heard from certain nominal social democrats or ''compassionate conservatives'' - political flakes such as Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, David Cameron and George W. Bush. More substantial figures, such as Barack Obama, are beginning to understand, and others still, such as the British Labour MP Jon Cruddas, have long appreciated the wisdom found in the thinking of those caricatured as ''religious conservatives''.

Cruddas, who is in charge of drafting British Labour's manifesto for the 2015 election, has long asked the same questions as Benedict: What does it mean to be human? Are we simply actors in a never-ending series of economic transactions or are we interdependent beings who require a society in which ethics and trust trump profit at all cost?

Benedict leaves a conflicted legacy. But ''God's Rottweiler'' deserves a more balanced assessment, especially given his insights into an unjust world.

Andrew West is the presenter of The Religion & Ethics Report on ABC Radio National.

37 comments

An interesting article, and you have raised some good points. However, I would disagree that Benedict resigned due to scandals, he resigned due to old age, he was 85 yrs old and did not want to be the pope before he was elected, he was preparing for retirement. When most people retire at 65yrs he took on one of the highest positions in the world at the age of 77yrs old. He took on the position as a matter of duty to God. As he said in his resignation speach, he no longer has the energy and if you look at the more recent photographs, it is quite clear that he does not look well anymore. It was an act from a man who was not obsessed with power and glory.

He stood up for the Catholic values on abortion, same sex marriage, euthanasia, contraception, female clergy as any highly elected catholic Pope should.

The issue with contraception in Africa is not as simple as giving everyone condoms to use, but more of an issue with morality, i.e. giving a sex addict a condom is not going to help the person address their problem. I do agree their should be condoms available in these parts of the world as a matter of public health, but I also agree that simply giving people condoms is not going to solve morality problems at all.

Commenter

Anthony

Location

City

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 4:29AM

Sorry but the Catholic church does not have a monopoly on morality, and even if they did, wouldnt saving thousands of lives be more of a moral pursuit than forcing a belief system onto someone? I only assume thats what you meant as in my experience, any moral "issue" being treated by the church, like being gay for example, involves much prayer to set them "straight".So no, giving a sex addict condoms may not solve their problem but it will help to protect the sex addicts partner who may very well not be an addict themselves. That a point like this is lost on so many believers that i have spoken to makes me wonder about the churches stance on alot of things, is it about doing the right thing, as was the most basic of principles taught to me during my years at a Catholic school? or is it more about getting the numbers in your club so your opinions hold more weight when it comes time to lobby the government and/or interfere with other peoples lives?

Commenter

Clarence

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 6:46AM

@ Clarence,

No the Catholic Church has never said it has a monopoly on morality, but it does have more of a moral compass (e.g. 10 commandments) than secular society (? Societies laws are not done for morality but to spell out what is wrong and unacceptable), that’s not saying it does not and has not done immoral things, as it clearly has, as have people from all walks of life – humans are imperfect and flawed no matter what they believe. It is not the Catholic Church’s responsibility to say yes it is OK to use condoms, the Catholic Church’s responsibility is for the salvation of souls. Being gay is not a sin, just like being straight isn’t either. I don’t think the Catholic Church is interested in getting numbers in the club, otherwise it would follow pop culture trends, which it clearly doesn’t. People have a right to choose if they do or do not agree with the core beliefs, it is not forced upon anyone, the choice is freely yours.

Commenter

Anthony

Location

City

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 7:07AM

@Anthony, and as you know, the Church was based upon the teachings as laid out by Jesus of Nazareth a town still in existence today. Following the inauguration of the Roman Catholic Church in 313 AD (300 years after Jesus) it has been in existence for exactly 1,700 years. Millions of people believe in the deity and moral code-values of Roman Catholicism, including (as poverty is observed) millions of Australians. Yet millions of roman catholics remain materially poor. This raises many great questions about wealth re-distribution, because human poverty and misery is caused by people and Jesus was a great man who campaigned diligently against the powerful and the greedy living in society. In his 'Theory of Moral Sentiments" - 1759) Smith said, "[The man of system] seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard; he does not consider that the pieces upon the chessboard have no other principle of motion besides that which the hand impresses upon them; but that, in the great chessboard of human society, every single piece has a principle motion of its own, altogether different from which the legislator might choose to impress upon it". It will be interesting to follow the many Roman Catholic Cardinals as they consider their moral legislation to be enacted by the next Pope to lead the two billion people into the remainder of the 21st Century.

Commenter

Adam Smith

Location

Katoomba

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 8:50AM

Anthony, The Ten Commandments are laws made by the Hebrew /Jewish People, introduced by their great Egyptian Prince and leader Moses. The 10 Commandments consist of 613 laws and are easily accessible in the modern bible. Jesus a Jewish man strictly upheld the Mosaic Laws. For example, one of the laws refers to only one god. However, as the story is told, the Hebrew people lived under Egyptian Pharaonic law and as some modern scholars have shown, based upon their research, the ancient Egyptians worshipped a superior god with minor gods from which they legislated their social laws. The Mosaic Laws were designed that there was only one god from which the social legislation to conduct society would be implemented. Individual greed was a no go zone under this law. If the roman catholic Church is to survive into the future, it must in my opinion, design a global moral charter that recognises that the Earth sustains all living creatures etc and if mankind abuses the environment things will happen. It has been said, that if all the insects on earth died mankind will die, but if mankind dies then all the insects and nature will flourish.

Commenter

Adam Smith

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 9:12AM

"but it does have more of a moral compass (e.g. 10 commandments) than secular society"

Sigh, So why did they chose to cover up and protect pedo priests? And the 10 commandments? pfft. They're mostly religious rules that would be unconstitutional to enforce in this country. 1 is a thought crime impossible to prosecute. 1 would see just about every child in the country locked up (might do them some good but expensive) and they say nothing about child abuse or reporting crimes in general.

The issue is not that there were imperfect priests committing crimes but that those chosen for leadership upon learning of these crimes, chose to protect themselve at the expense of the current and future victims. It was an abject failure in moral terms without excuse. Everyone one of them responsible should be locked up.

Commenter

Mathew

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 9:26AM

@Matthew, and they continue to be exposed for their crimes, even making laws that cause hunger and starvation is a crime. The church will learn to be open with the people, and in this context modern science will show the way, internet, medicine, space research and climate change. Even political party's made up pf elected people who are RC or CE or Muslim or Jewish or Buddhists etc will have to confront the reality of science and the discovery of knowledge like the DNA.

Commenter

Adam Smith

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 9:45AM

@Anthony .. he resigned due to "old age"?

But isn't the pope selected divinly by your "god" to represent him on earth unitl the pope dies? At least thats the line that the Catholic Church runs with all the time.

So which is it?

The pope is selected by divine intervention, and this time around "god" selected a person who wasn't up to the job (so much for god being infallible)?

Or is the pope just another bloke, selected by a group of blokes under a political system to enusre the continuity of power; and "god" has no role in it at all (so much for being omnipotent and omniscient)?

Either option doesn't look to great from a religious perspective.

Commenter

rob1966

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 9:47AM

@ Adam Smith

Yes I know the 10 commandments were from Mosses. Jesus was Jewish, the old testament in the Catholic bible includes some of the books from 5000BC, I don’t get your point.

Your points about making laws which cause starvation and hunger being a crime also doesn’t make any sense.

Your statements about science exposing the truth about everything also doesn’t make any sense, considering some of the greatest scientists who have ever lived and still today are theists. It may surprise you to know, that science also works together with the divine.

Commenter

Anthony

Location

City

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 11:21AM

@ Matthew

Like I said just because people are of a religious disposition, that does not make them perfect, nobody’s perfect. It is not the Church which is perfect but the message behind the scripture is, when interpreted properly, taking the language, culture, intentions of the author and customs etc into account – which is not easy in itself.

You are right that the 10 commandments could not be made law, I didn’t say that – they are a moral compass. Three of them are law (stealing, lying & murder). Government laws don’t provide a way to life only a way to keep society under control. Secular moral compass, I don’t know what that is, perhaps Alain Du Button has done a pretty good job on this one.

I agree if there is evidence of church cover ups by Church clergy, then they should be treated like anyone else guilty of committing crimes.